Trump security removes POLITICO reporter from rally

SAN JOSE, Calif. — A Donald Trump campaign staffer and a private security guard removed a POLITICO reporter from a campaign rally here on Thursday evening for reporting at the event without the campaign’s permission.

A campaign staffer spotted the reporter typing on a laptop outside of the press pen at the San Jose Convention Center and asked the reporter, who was attending on a general admission ticket, if he had press credentials. The Trump campaign has refused to credential the reporter for multiple events.

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The staffer said he would consult with his superiors and returned minutes later with a private security officer who instructed the reporter to leave the premises, escorting him out a nearby exit.

“The campaign is not aware of the incident or any details pertaining to it and therefore cannot comment,” wrote campaign spokeswoman Hope Hicks in an email. She added that the campaign is “looking into it.”

After weeks of media scrutiny about donations he promised to veterans groups, the presumptive GOP nominee held a news conference Tuesday to announce the groups that received the money. But Trump, who often refers to journalists as “scum” and “slime” — used the event instead to lambaste reporters for asking questions about the donations in the first place, referring to one ABC reporter as “sleaze.”

According to the Washington Post and the Associated Press, Trump sent many of the checks after reporters began asking the campaign about the fate of the donations. The total also fell short of the $6 million he originally boasted.

In response to Trump’s haranguing of reporters at the press conference, veteran newsman Dan Rather wrote, “a shudder went down my spine.”

The real estate developer and entertainer has sued or threatened to sue journalists regularly over the course of his adult life and earlier this year vowed to “loosen up” libel laws to make it easier to sue media organizations.

In ejecting unwelcome attendees, the campaign often argues that its rallies are private events “paid for by Mr. Trump.” American taxpayers, however, foot the bill for Trump’s Secret Service protection at the events, and local governments often incur costs for policing the disruptions the events cause.

Minutes after the ejection, the campaign sent the reporter an email, denying credentials to Trump's Friday rally in Redding, California.